Investing with James

Remember what I told you last week, that all mortgages of more than 25 years would be banned in Canada? It will soon happen, as this information and this industry article attest. It’s a joint initiative of F, the Bank of Canada and OSFI, the bank regulator. Almost half of all outstanding mortgages at the monster banks are believed to be longer than 25 years. This change may further decrease national housing sales by up to 10%. — Garth

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For the record, I’ve never met James de Vuyst, but I know he took a junket to Vegas a few weeks ago sponsored by non-bank mortgage lender State Capital. I know he tweets when he drives, (“bike police checking cars on Denman before Lions Gate driving straight instead of turning on Robson”) and who he’s voting for on Tuesday (“@christyclarkbc is the only way to go’).

And I know Darcy hates him.

“I am a loyal reader of your blog, but more importantly I am a decent person and not as dumb as my father-in-law thinks I am.

“As a decent person, I request that you eviscerate a mortgage broker preying on the unenlightened pre-approved millennials whose parental filters block your words of wisdom. Further, I would gladly donate to a campaign to drop leaflets on basement-dwelling hipster neighbourhoods in the interests of ensuring the survival of our species.”

As residential real estate scares more people, for good reason, the reaction is about what you’d expect.

Lenders are racing to the bottom, chopping mortgage rates to the point where a five-year closed loan is at 2.8%. Everybody knows the cost of money will erupt later, which is why banks are pumping so hard. They’re called teaser rates. They helped destroy US housing.

Brokers and lenders have gone on a charm offensive (with the emphasis on offensive). How else to explain stories like those in the Toronto Star extolling mortgage brokers? What a shame, however, the happy first-time buyer they profiled was related to her lender. Testimonials just ain’t what they used to be.

Realtors in places like Calgary and Vancouver are offering a Buyer Protection Plan, giving up to 5% of the price back if the market tanks, thereby helping ensure it will.

And here’s Twittering James the broker, basically guaranteeing the young & the horny that real estate prices will steadily rise, even in the nation’s most delusional market.

“You’ve heard them. The skeptics are everywhere, talking of gloom and doom about the Vancouver real estate market. ‘It’s too expensive,’ they say, or even ‘It’s fundamentally overvalued and will crash soon.’ It isn’t, and it won’t. Here are the top 5 reasons why young people should ignore the talking heads and bet on Vancouver real estate now.”

And what are they?

First, cheap rates (of course). But instead of counseling that buyers use one-in-a-lifetime levels to trash debt faster, James does his people proud by suggesting they buy more, thereby taking on as much debt as possible. “Because of this, first time buyers can qualify in a higher price range, allowing them to enter into the expensive Vancouver market.”

And what happens when rates rise? Yes, real estate values fall and the 5%-down gang with a monster mortgage end up owning more than the property is worth. Great tip, James!

Second, buyer incentives. And here the broker’s right. Governments have been lavishing homebuyer credits, RRSP loans and first-time bonuses. This is like when Loblaws marks down week-old comatose chicken breasts, or Kia lets you drive a car for 60 days without paying, or you get a tax credit to buy a labour-sponsored fund no sane person would touch otherwise. Do you think they just like you?

Third, says James, “there really are decent homes out there for under $300K.” Well, not exactly a house, more like a 650-square-foot box. And not exactly where hipsters hang out, since “these types of deals are out there in Coquitlam, Surrey and Langley.” But think of all the great iTunes you can listen to while you pedal your bike the 2 ½ hours to your cool job downtown!

Fourth, “they’re not making any more land.” Seriously. He said that. Of course, every high-rise building that puts 600 people in a spot where four houses used to be manufactures more real estate. And when James says (categorically), “land values will probably go up,” how does that relate to a virgin’s condo, where no land is actually owned? Does he just mean monthly fees?

And fifth, the broker says the kids should buy real estate so it can be rented out for a fabulous future income. “Once that place is paid off (say 15 years) it’s providing you with $1500 a month in rent. If you buy a few more small places in your life time you could be receiving $6000 a month in rent, which would be 72K/year….does your RRSP provide that kind of return?”

Let’s see, that’s four places at three hundred grand, which are paid off after 15 years for a total investment of $2.1 million, yielding $72,000 in gross revenue, or about $50,000 after fees and taxes (assuming 100% occupancy and no rate increases for 15 year, LOL), or an annual return of 2.3%, fully taxed at your marginal rate.

The finale: “In closing, while everybody likes to listen to the skeptics, the fact of the matter is that now is a really good time to buy. Forget all the reports on Vancouver being in a bubble and the market crashing. If they had been true, the market would have crashed a long, long time ago. If you live your life by what these reports say, you might find yourself paying rent to support somebody else’s mortgage forever.”

The average Van condo costs $365,900. Closing costs (including 5% down and land tax) are $24,000. The mortgage and insurance of $358,000 costs $1,657 a month or $2,097 with strata fees and property tax. That’s $500 more than rent. After five years, the mortgage would cost $99,461, and you’d still owe $304,817. Now that $365,900 condo has cost $430,637. You need more than 5% growth in prices a year just to break even – and you’d still have paid $30,000 more than the renter to live in the same place.

But, wait. Van condo prices are 3% lower than last year. Oops.

There ya go, Darcy. Spread the word. I wish your species well.

Update 13/5/13:

After this blog post was published, the article referenced above which he had posted on the site Abodable.com was erased, later reinstated. The owner of that site has asked me to submit a column to add ‘more balance’. Mr. de Vuyst’s recent tweeets have also disappeared.

149 comments ↓

Many comments here and on other real estate blogs ask “why is the downturn in prices so long in coming?”

This question made me think about my knowledge of the real estate industry both in my community and in Canada. I realized that before I hooked up to the internet and began reading Greater Fool and similar sites in late 2011 I knew nothing about the real estate industry. Up to that point I had relied on print media for what little I knew, particularly the Globe & Mail nationally, and the local papers, the Comox Valley Record and Echo. I realize on reflection that if those, particularly the latter two, had remained my only source of information I would still be totally ignorant as to the state of real estate in the Comox Valley. So what does this paragraph have to do with the opening question? The answer in a nutshell is that the media have kept the public in almost total ignorance as to the state of the real estate market. Thus sellers are asking prices for real estate that approximate the prices their in-laws or neighbours got a year or two back with no idea that the situation has changed dramatically since then.

I made up a brief checklist of what I now know about real estate in the Comox Valley and compared it to what I would know from reading only the Record and Echo.

Inventory of around 1,300 units, not including listings by owners and around 20 months of inventory, a clear indicator of a collapsed housing market. No mention in either paper.

Inventory of 230 building lots for sale, April 2013 sales of 4 lots and year over year drop in prices of 48%. Given that all you can do with a lot is build on it or sell it (you definitely can not rent it) they are good indicators of the current collapsed state of both construction and housing demand. Again nothing in either paper.

Sale of single family homes, down 24% year over year to April 2013 and selling price down 5%. This statistic does get “reported” as “steady as she goes” and throws in “only a 3% drop in the the 12 months to date.” And of course the report is just the blurb handed out by the local real estate board.

The fact that the median income here is around $50k and that the average household can not realistically expect to pay more than $100 – 150k for a house while the average selling price is around $340k. No mention in either paper.

There is no mention of desirable homes selling for 20% or more below assessment but there have been numerous articles about the “Arthur Erickson House” in Comox that is currently listed for $2.5m and has been for sale for years and probably will never fetch that price. But these latter points are not made.

Current out migration from BC, on an annualized basis, is one of the worst years in the past 25 years. Not mentioned in either paper, although letters to the editor bewail the fact that if the NDP returns to power there will be the “U-Haul” phenomenon where “all our children will have to leave for Alberta to find work”. Propaganda intstead of news and neither paper takes the simple step of recording the true state of affairs when publishing such letters. Nor does either mention the effect on both rental rates and real estate selling prices if this out migration continues.

I suspect that if you supplied information similar to that mentioned above for free to a community newspaper very few would print it.

In conclusion, if you relied on the community newspapers in this area for real estate news you would effectively be in a state of near total ignorance. And I am quite sure the same situation prevails in almost every part of Canada. Thus I sincerely thank Garth for the invaluable information and analysis that his and the other blogs provide.

25% immediate cuts to all publicly funded salaries and pensions _ except front line workers!
Wasteful greasy public servants are the biggest drag on the economy today

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Unfortunately renting mean living under someone else,s rules in your own residence. This is unacceptable to many. Some ppl insist on a ducati and a rolex, but are fine with a landlord. To others the first any only luxury is the freedom to call ALL the shots in one,s home.

‘In my Wednesday column, I reported that the Toronto-based Growth-Works Canadian Fund had made several costly financing deals to alleviate its liquidity problems.

The Canadian Fund is one of several labour-sponsored venture capital funds managed by Vancouver-based GrowthWorks Capital Ltd. Others include the Working Opportunity Funds, which are widely held by B.C. residents.”

The saddest thing about this post is that James honestly believes the nonsense that he is tweeting. He is like a brainwashed child who, despite growing evidence to the contrary, cannot admit his religion is false. He’s probably burning incence to an effigy of Don Campbell at this very moment.

Garth, thank you for exposing another one……James the broker, preying on the clueless house horny. Speaking of clueless, they do come from all age brackets, as Garth says. This is a major impediment for financial illiteracy throughout the masses.

This weekend, I was at a social gathering of people from their 20’s to their sixties. The topics discussed, of course included RE. The common theme among all of them was mortgage debt, credit card debt, and only 1 asset, their housing. When asked about the RE market in Canada, my reply was short and simple: “when it comes to finances all I have to say, is that I like: balanced diversified assets, liquidity, cash flow, and no debt.” A couple of people tried to start an argument with me, but I have been there before. I have quit trying to argue with insanity. However, broker vampires have no excuses, as they know exactly what they are doing. The list of individuals, and others, that you expose for their unethical behaviors continues to grow Garth. Thanks, Garth…..please continue to nail the bast…s. Freedom First.

“If business leaders ever wonder why a chunk of the public disdains business, and calls for higher corporate taxes or sector-specific increases (higher royalty rates for energy and mining, higher stumpage fees in forestry), or just increased business taxation in general, here’s a clue: too many companies are addicted to corporate welfare.”

Why doesn’t our wimpy government put a stop to this out of control debt orgy????
Can they not see the obvious?
And what is the deal with all those rock-star realtors and the like bullshitting everyone around them just to score a fat commission.

As far as land per citizen, Canada is the largest country in the worlds with most expensive housing.
Does that make sense to anyone with possible exception of James or any of his blood sucking colleagues ????????????????????

For the same reason in over a deacade we will not be voting in the BC Election……

There is NO POINT in voting for a “Dictatorial” type of govt. I asked and asked for the last two months. Neither Dix nor Clark will admit to allowing “free votes” for its MLAs. Its what the “Party Leader” dictates or yer out. Federal system is the same…..

The goverment want to crush the middle class and lower income.Why do you think they impose such high taxes.Basically Canadians are tax and debt slaves.We have immigration because they don’t complain and are happy just to leave their improvished country.More people for less jobs mean lower wages.As for our laws,their a joke.What country spends billions on a 10 year phony war or millions on seiral killers to house,feed and proscute them,instead of spending our tax money helping famillies with affordable day care,sick children and the elderly.Its truly shameful to be a Canadian.

•Lenders are racing to the bottom, chopping mortgage rates to the point where a five-year closed loan is at 2.8%. Everybody knows the cost of money will erupt later, which is why banks are pumping so hard. They’re called teaser rates. They helped destroy US housing.

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Well, not quite the same as the U.S. teasers. I believe the U.S. teasers were BELOW market rates with the rates to revert to above market in several years to make up for the initial below market rate.

In Canada we simply have the fact that market 5 year rates are very low… we expect but don’t know that they will be materially higher in five years.

Then again in the U.S. the mortgage borrowers are protected from rate increases for 30 years (except for those teasers) while in Canada we have no protection beyond five years in most cases.

But it was not higher rates on teaser renewals that took the U.S. down it was that mortgages were given to people who had no real income and could not even make the first few months payment. It was the income verification and credit rating standards that were thrown out in the U.S. And that was caused largely by the hot potating of the mortgage as it was quickly sold at a gain to investors through securitization.

While securitization exists in Canada it is far different and the credit risk or even early payment risk is not passed on to investors in the same way at all.

Rule Number 1: NEVER EVER state with certainty that anything will for sure happen in the markets. (There are NO certainties in the market. Highly probable yes. Certain, no.)

Ironically your name is “nodebt” and you like Christy Clark as the “Premier appointed” two years ago.
Perhaps you missed the fact that she has added $11 BILLION dollars to the BC deficit in the 2 years of her “reign”. The largest increase in the history of the Province.

Will condos ever be a good investment again? Other than the last 10 years, where everything has doubled, I can’t see when it will ever make sense to buy a condo, with the ever increasing monthly fees, the shoddy construction and cheap materials they use to build them with…Too bad most cannot afford a house in Vancouver or Toronto–even with a 40 percent correction. What other alternative do they have other than to rent until their dying days…

#29 Shawn — “But it was not higher rates on teaser renewals that took the U.S. down it was that mortgages were given to people who had no real income and could not even make the first few months payment. It was the income verification and credit rating standards that were thrown out in the U.S. “

While I agree that things were marginally worse in the US “originate to distribute” model, all you have to do is read a few mortgage brokerage industry blogs to discover a steady drumbeat of:
– lenders tightening up appraisal, credit score and income verification standards
– elimination of self-employed/”stated income” programs, or tightening verification a lot
– banks closing their broker channels in favour of direct selling only
– lowering the maximum number of properties a borrower is allowed to own
– etc, etc.

All of the above is in addition to Flaherty’s mixture, and all in the last year or two. Now some of these may be partially business decisions, but collectively it appears a lot of Canadian financial institutions were writing a lot of business that they won’t or can’t write today. Call that subprime or, as the industry likes to spin it, hordes of well-qualified, prudent borrowers being punished for the sins of a few. Whatever. Will Dunning is singing soprano that overall net will be the loss of almost 200k jobs. Should that come to pass, I hereby predict that:
– default rates will tick up
– it will be discovered that more than a few loans were unsoundly underwritten
– Top bankers, regulators and industry analysts will declare that they are shocked, SHOCKED! to discover that poor underwriting was taking place in Canada
– The Finance Minister will declare that the problems are contained to subprime
… and I think you can fill in the rest … or I could be wrong and a number of TSX listed equities are a steal at current valuations.

“Governments have been lavishing homebuyer credits, RRSP loans and first-time bonuses…Do you think they just like you?”

I am now a little confused, because it seems like one part of government is trying to make it harder to get into a mortgage, no more 30 year amortization, while another is still providing helpful incentives. Is this contradictory behaviour? Not that such a thing would be terribly surprising, just wondering why they don’t pull back on incentives especially for the most vulnerable first time buyers, if it’s not because they just like me.

Ironic that some people seem to think that provincial politics have a bearing on RE. Last I checked, Premiers dont have much pull with the BoC, Immigration, or CMHC. Poor Adrian Dix is going to be blamed for the housing crash a year from now.

#33 , for my business it’s better that the liberals be re elected! NDP will just slow down construction in BC, whoever gets in is gonna blow billions! Just looking out for myself cause nobody else is going to!

’14 Halifax Observer
The saddest thing about this post is that James honestly believes the nonsense that he is tweeting.’

The future saddest thing is that after James is wrong, he is going to go back to the same source that fed him dis-info for more, continuing to want to believe the BS rather than update the ole belief codes.

So I was working in Silicon Valley at the time of the great credit default – showing some Yanks how to do their technology, and there’s two items that caused deep impressions.
I remember going to the local Washington Mutual branch and it was just like in the movies. I mean it was Potterville instead of Sunnyvale, with hundreds lined up in a panic trying to get to their money out before it “disappeared”.
The second local story was even sadder. There was some local engineer who went all out in the RE speculation game and leveraged himself on multiple local empty building lots, the type that are “one lot, one house, developer bypasses” that are illiquid in the best of times. He got let go from his firm for some reason, went back to the office, shot it up, killed a couple of his bosses and then took his own life, no doubt partially due to his outside “interest”.
Makes you wonder if we’ll see both repeat in either Van or TO in the years ahead.

“Buy land, they aren’t making it anymore.” That was Mark Twain. Not sure when he said it but he was born in 1835 and died in 1910. Was anyone really worried about a scarcity of land then? Or a scarcity of condos now?

It’s difficult to conceive a more hapless bunch of dimwits than any of the candidates in this BC election. But then, BC politics have always been nutso. I voted for the least offensive (IMHO), while gagging slightly. I suspect, though, that BC will muddle through in spite of its lamebrain politicians and not because of them… as usual.

Reading a lot of you British Columbians wishing to axe your current government for the NDP. Be careful. Here in Manitoba we’ve had 13 years of NDP. Second highest tax rate in Canada (what would we do without Quebec?)- a promise of Hydro rates increasing AT LEAST 3% per annum for the next 10 years due to mismangement by the NDP – auto insurance rates that make BC look like free transportation – the last 2 years have seen tax increases (our ‘tax-on-tax’ system takes a back seat to no jurisdiction) not seen in last 25 years – not one true budget surplus during entire mandate – ballooning total debt with no plan to repay – worst roads in Canada, even with ‘dedicated’ taxes – no cuts in social spending, heck, no cuts at all – major population out-migration mitigated only by huge immigration from countries where people are ignorant about the real state of affairs.
The NDP, in only 13 years, have bankrupted our ‘rainy day fund’, put our hydro utility into serious financial jeopardy after a transfer of profits into general revenues and raised the poverty rate to unbelievable heights for a socialist government. And to add insult to injury, our total debt is now to the point that my great-great grandchildren will be paying the interest on the extravagant spending of this government. Unless I can convince them of the wisdom of heading for saner climes. May BC still be in that category.
Imagine for a moment a time when you see Christy Clark as a messianic voice of financial reason. That may just be the case after a stint with the NDP.

Great post tonight, Garth. Didn’t mean to hijack it with my rant. Just thought BCers need to know that ‘Twittering James’ is the least of their worries at this juncture.

So I was working in Silicon Valley at the time of the great credit default – showing some Yanks how to do their technology, and there’s two items that caused deep impressions.
I remember going to the local Washington Mutual branch and it was just like in the movies. I mean it was Potterville instead of Sunnyvale, with hundreds lined up in a panic trying to get their money out before it “disappeared”.
The second story was even sadder. There was some local engineer who went all out in the RE speculation game and leveraged himself on multiple local empty building lots, the type that are “one house, one lot, developer bypasses” that are illiquid in the best of times. He got let go from his firm for some reason, went back to the office, shot it up, killed a couple of his bosses and then took his own life, no doubt partially due to the stress of his outside “interests”.
Makes you wonder if we’ll see either repeat in Van or TO in the years ahead.

BC’s election is a “plebiscite on prosperity”. Diane Francis’ article in Saturday’s National post comments on BC residents’ choice. The prosperity choice will help Canada as a whole, the poverty choice will be devastating. She considers energy in general is the cornerstone of the Canadian economy; BC’s biggest upside is the natural gas reserves if they can be monetized, and they require building of up to four pipelines and more infrastructure to export LNG around the world. BC must realize there are no alternatives, tourism has collapsed across Canada. If tourism could be kick-started it would take energy for the ferries, cars, busses, rail links etc. BCs other shadow industry marijuana and narcotics is in trouble, as Washington and Oregon have voted to legalize marijuana. BCs retirement havens will disappear with the high taxation and excessive real estate prices. Head offices have moved already to Alberta. And so this election is not so much a vote as a plebiscite on prosperity or poverty. Hopefully most will vote Liberal and hopefully they will stiffen their resolve to create wealth for all, and execute the process with integrity…

“Everyone who applies for a mortgage should technically be employed, but this is meant to be the ones who are employed by an employer or government agency. These types of applicants are the easiest ones to approve.”

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Whoa! You should “technically” be employed, but if you’re not, hey! we can still make it work through my magic.

Another weekend, another round of open house hopping in Ottawa, and more to report from the ground.

Visited 4 (actually only 2) open houses in our hood. One was a house that was re-listed this year after an unsuccessful 5 month wait last year with 3 agonizing price drops during that time. This year, the same house was listed at $635k, 5k below where they left off last year (where’s the 3% rise in price, OREB?). We had seen this house last year, and rejected it for high asking price back then for a house where Mike Holmes (or the likes) hadn’t stepped in since it was constructed in 1989. As we were going through the house once again this time to check if anything has changed since, 2 other families went through the place as quickly as a Ferrari would navigate a turn. Just as we were leaving, a mother with 2 kids popped in and asked the agent, if the owners have done anything since their last listing. Agent says, NO, the Mother pushes her kids out of the main door not even bothering to take a second look.

We go to a next OH listed at 795k, just to check what kind of crazies lived there. As soon as we enter the place, the listing agent (very warm and seemingly practical and seasoned agent) greets us and first thing she says “Its listed for 795, but its not worth the price”. Me and my wife look at each other in amazement on this refreshing response from an agent. After tour of this house, we completely agreed with the agent. Again Mike Holmes forgot to pay a visit to this place since it was built in 1988.

We think of going to the OH across the street listed at 900k, but still in shock from an encounter with an honest agent, decide to just skip this house. Don’t think we missed much either, judging by our car was the only one on the street visiting and the agent of the house standing at the entrance smiling at us.

We drove in front of another OH on market for over 3 months where the agent last week was giving away “a nice bottle of wine”. Again crickets on the street with no visitors in sight. We drove away as quickly as we could, fearing the listing agent here may ambush us to give us the bottle of wine.

Garth, 8 out of 10! Though this is a topic that sadly, you’ve brought up before, hammering some nerd on disproven cliches that lives in Vancouver (riot much?) you were quick to man up to your slip up, correct it and move on.

I feel motivated to post for my first time because of the number of political comments. This year I am voting Green. Before I am disregarded as a gold hoarding, reefer smoking, hippie. I would like to state the reality of my and my wifes finance. We live in Nanaimo. Both of us are small business people. We own retail/wholesale/service businesses. We own multiple pieces of real estate, both residential and commercial. We have money invested in stocks, mutual funds and etfs, and yes I also own physical gold and silver. Our businesses and real estate holdings are set up under limited companys in order to garner favorable tax treatment. It works well. Under corporate taxation we would pay only about 15% tax on something like the first $500k in profit that our businesses make and basically $0 in tax personally on the dividends that we are issued from the corporations.

Now given these facts, you would think that we would be conservative or liberal supporters. If my corporations could vote for themselves; and thank god they cannot, they would certainly be voting far right because the far right is going to be more in support of removing environmental protection laws, labor laws, social service funding, or anything else that gets in the way of corporate profits and shareholders making a profit.

We vote for ourselves though. As humans the things we truly need are clean air, clean water, healthy food, and shelter. So as a human being the only party that I see supporting or considering these needs is the Green Party.

Many people would say that this is a wasted vote. There are a lot of people out there that vote strategically because they are afraid to waste their vote or be too far left of centre. If people got off their couches and voted with their hearts the way they truly feel then we may see some real positive change in this country. People like Elizabeth May that represents the Saanich – Gulf Islands riding are the type of people that I would like to see running this country.

If we really wanted to see this country take off socially and fiscally, we would likely be better off with mandatory voting laws like Australia. Or better yet direct democracy like Switzerland. If the young people of this country made their voices heard we could see dramatic change to the political scene in this country.

Garth I love your blog and have been a daily reader for at least four years. You are spot on regarding the state of Canadian real estate. It seems crazy to be selling my revenue producing, living, working, and potential food producing land to invest into the rigged digital markets around the world. Especially when you consider that if QE were to stop tomorrow trillions of dollars of market equity would evaporate into thin air… And this could all hinge on who wins an election. But no land will be lost.

#28 and #25 – Canada a democracy – that’s a laugh. Vote for me and I’ll solve all the problems. All those politicals know what side the bread is buttered on. “We’re here to serve the people of Canada”, as long as we get our six figure pensions, future corporate board governance seats and feed our egos at your cost.
They go out of their way to load the country up with desperate second & third worlders who don’t know the difference and think they’ve reached Nirvana compared to the old country. Believe me, recent immigrants I work with have told me just that without any prodding on my part, and these are Phd’s. It does help to have a passive population to get things done according to your “vision”.
H. doing a favor for the Americans with participation in Af’stan and is such an amateur he can’t even get his pipeline thru. I mean really, Af-stan is a threat to Canada – makes you wonder if it’s just part of “Action Plan Canada” that accidently missed a TV spot to tell us how great the government is doing. 20-30-40 billion dollar fighter aircraft. WTF for? To protect us from the US? Canada has a labor shortage, even though less than half of recent engineering, Computer Science, accounting or medical techs, the solid professions, will every get involved in anything they were trained for. For many, higher education in Canada is now nothing more than a keep them busy, make work program, where you pick up the tab instead of the government. Carbon taxes in BC, solar / wind energy in Ontario – it’s just so incredibly stupid. I’m sure the rest of the world’s leaders can’t believe the overall stupidity of the Canadian government, especially the Koreans with their dealings with Ontario. If you really want to help the environment, quit with the immigration “overload”. Any real environmentalist knows there’s more incremental environmental destruction caused by one more hyphenated “Canadian” than the decrease caused by the carbon tax on a thousand cars.
I think we should have a new law. Whenever a new political get elected to office, he has to spend 99% of his time on the beaches of Hawaii by law, paid for by the people of Canada of course, to help make sure he doesn’t cause anymore harm to the Canadian people. They’re just in general so incredibly stupid, they’re not even aware they do more harm than good.

We should all keep in mind that James the Broker and others are still around waiting in the shadows for an easy prey. I agree with the majority of people saying that they would be completely ignorant if they had not read this blog. And it is true. You can always put Vancouver housing market report in front of your customers and say that you think its time to buy. The best time actually. And certain percentage of people with no knowledge about the situation will definitely believe you. Its classical predatory behavior

But why are we so ignorant?
1) we don´t care
2) we don´t have time to care
3) we are being overwhelmed by useless statistics, that are making things look difficult, and we rely on the information from James the Broker, his media, and his friends from politics.

She isn’t to pretty on the outside either however she actually did something RIGHT! We are landlocked the pipelines to the coast should actually be declared a national emergency and BUILT like ..yesterday.

Canada’s bank regulator is casting a wary eye on uninsured mortgages of more than 25 years as policy makers in Ottawa continue to fret about the housing market and high consumer-debt levels.

It is not clear what, if any, actions the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions may take. The regulator is talking to lenders about the issue, and assessing the risks, in deciding whether it needs to crack down.

Garth, you are getting real good at shaming these shady pumper types back into the shadows from whence they came. Maybe you can find a bigger target like Brad Lamb or something.

Anyway that OFSi article had about a much chance if going through as the “bail in” policy mentioned in the federal budget. It ain’t going to happen until Harper et al are re-elected. In 2 years time this whole house of cards could be in the floor anyway and the regulator doesn’t need to do anything.

it doss mot make any sense in gta at the moment. what i am seeing is completly different then what is being said here. There is no price correction espacially in asian community specific areas like brampton. i have been looking for a semi for past two years jn north,north eastern brampton and all i see is houses being sold atleast on asking value , mostly above asking. like one corner lot semi on highway 50,i the neighbourhood of my reletives, was sold for 480k !. i am talking abt 1800 sqft house on average lot for that area. u cannot find decent house below 400k this year in that area where last year prices were 380k. not sure why is this so. if anyone could shed some light that will much appreciated. though my guess is that this is hot indian money in effect as many indians with newly acquired wealth may be moving to this area.

All the logic in the world didn’t cause RE sales or prices to fall much in April. Partly it is due to ignorance maintained by the media as stated by Ford Prefect #3. I am more persuaded by Shawn #29 who reminds us that there are no certainties in the market (well at least the Ottawa market which interests me). Nobody knows how this will turn out.

Unfortunately there won’t be a quick resolution; there won’t be an “I told you so” moment for several more years. It’s a wonder how Garth can stick to his logic and his guns. I think he’s right but he is way out on a limb.

It’s everywhere. Ontario is in the same state. Even little PEI has as much debt as larger places.

It’s everywhere. If I said there was a plan underway to ‘economically bomb’ us and bring us to our knees, people would laugh at this conspiratorial nonsense.
But our tax farm farmers CANNOT let 7 billion sheep have any power. Think of it. We must be fenced in and prodded and injected at all times. And scared (“Saddam’s WMD!!!”).

Alberta Venture magazine this month comments on AB’s scam “Carbon Taxes” floated going from 15/tn to $40/tn – a crippling cost to producers. And that other countries with as much oil – like Venezeuala – have none. I’d say look at some South American ETFs. Kanada is dead money. 2nd world country status coming.

How to think like a Tax Slave Farmer.
If you are into stocks consider Monsanto, and Ingredion. The latter makes high fructose modified etc syrups. . Check out labels on brand name ketchup, relish, baked goods; yoghurt, even. 2nd ingredient is modified sugars. Yum.
Gotta keep the tax farm sheep fattened up. Sugar is too good for us!

Disclosure: I filter out fluoride, chlorine, and other chemicals from my home drinking water supply. At least the mega filters claim to. Maybe I should add those back in – this truth is hard to swallow.

@#59 Be careful. …..
Just switch “NDP” in Manitoba for “Liberal” in your post and thats exactly whats happened here in BC over the last 12 years of Liberal reign. They are crooks,liars and line the pockets of friends.

@#61 Literate….. Your last line.
“Hopefully most will vote Liberal and hopefully they will stiffen their resolve to create wealth for all, and execute the process with integrity”

Where have YOu been for the last 12 years? The liberals have raped this province. BC Rail sold to friends. BC Hydro bankrupt. The Owe-lympics. A $550 million dollar roof on BC Place. A $1 Billion dollar convention center originally estimated at $200 million. Toll Bridges reinstated after 45 years. BC Ferries losing money. Health Cuts, education cuts, the highest child poverty rates in Canada for 8 consecutive years….
And all Christy Clark can do is say ” Its about families” like the brainless idiot she is……
6 million dollars in ‘legal fees” money paid to two legilative assistants to “plead gulity” …..case closed. And then the premier resigns to take a cushy job in London as the High Commissioner…..

shawn – Why was there a market for these low quality private label securitizations?
=================

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported in January 2011 that: “…mortgage fraud…flourished in an environment of collapsing lending standards and lax regulation. The number of suspicious activity reports – reports of possible financial crimes filed by depository banks and their affiliates – related to mortgage fraud grew 20-fold between 1996 and 2005 and then more than doubled again between 2005 and 2009. One study places the losses resulting from fraud on mortgage loans made between 2005 and 2007 at $112 billion.

from financial inquiry :

We conclude this financial crisis was avoidable.
We conclude widespread failures in financial regulation and supervision proved devastating to the stability of the nation’s financial markets
We conclude dramatic failures of corporate governance and risk management at many systemically important financial institutions were a key cause of this crisis.
We conclude dramatic failures of corporate governance and risk management at many systemically important financial institutions were a key cause of this crisis.
We conclude the government was ill prepared for the crisis, and its inconsistent response added to the uncertainty and panic in the financial markets.
We conclude there was a systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics.
We conclude collapsing mortgage-lending standards and the mortgage securitization pipeline lit and spread the flame of contagion and crisis
We conclude over-the-counter derivatives contributed significantly to this crisis.
We conclude the failures of credit rating agencies were essential cogs in the wheel of financial destruction.

I had lunch with an older guy on Saturday. He lives in a smaller city in southern Ontario, and we were chewing the fat, and talked about real estate. He was wondering why I seem to think real estate might be to due for a downturn.

He has in the past been in business valuation, and I asked him about his decision-making when buying his last house (bought mid-2000s, sold this year for lifestyle reasons, without I think much consideration of the market’s prospects). It’s a 3000 foot bungalow on a half acre on the outskirts of town, and just the type of house that we both suspect will suffer big for demographic reasons in the future.

Anyway, he told me about going to ask after half-acre lots available in a comparable location elsewhere, talking to contractors and estimating things like permit costs, grading and landscaping, to reach a conclusion about the value of the land. He then called a builder and asked how much a foot of bungalow would cost to build, to reach a value of a comparable new house, and depreciated the cost of that new build based on the age of the house that was listed.

He then offered with the goal of getting the house for a bit less than his estimate.

When he sold, he had no idea about construction costs, land prices, whatever. He just tried to get whatever price he could, and assumed the buyer would do all that due diligence. I told him that he was crazy to think that the buyer did- his house had appreciated far more than that small city’s declining industries and lack of growth could possibly justify. I then told him that I personally know young people who have bought in one weekend, with no due diligence because they “know” that real estate is “definitely” going to keep going up. Which is why it is almost definitely going to go down, but also why it will take some time for that to happen.

http://grist.org/article/food-2010-09-21-op-ed-corn-subsidies-make-unhealthy-food-choices/
====================
…”most of Iowa’s cropland is farmed by people who don’t own it. As renters, they have less ability to apply conservation practices to land they don’t own and less reason to care about the long-term health of the land. They must push the land as hard as they can to make money in the face of escalating rental rates. In 2009, about 53 percent of Iowa’s cropland was rented, and the percentage is even higher in some other Corn Belt states. Out-of-state ownership increased from 6 percent in 1982 to 21 percent in 2007. Almost half (48 percent) of farmland in Iowa is operated by only 20 percent of all the farmers in Iowa, and between 50 and 99 percent of that land is rented.47 Moreover, in 2009 Iowa farmers paid about $2.5 billion to rent 13 million acres of cropland.48….http://www.ewg.org/losingground/report/making-it-right.html

@Freedom First, post #19:
What you said about the common theme among all of them was mortgage debt, credit card debt, and only 1 asset, their housing is something I’ve read here and elsewhere many times. I can see how younger people, especially under 30, who have never seen a housing bust and haven’t had time to gain financial wisdom could get into a bad financial situation, but what about older people? I don’t understand how anyone older, especially over 40 who has seen real estate go bust before (does anyone remember the 1990’s?) could let themselves get into such a potential financial mess?

@Deep Blue, post #60 who said:
There was some local engineer who went all out in the RE speculation game and leveraged himself on multiple local empty building lots.
I’m missing something here. To get an engineering degree don’t you have to have taken statistics, and thus have been able to see that what was happening with the bubble and run up in prices was a statistical anomaly? Don’t you, as an engineer, have analytical skills to see what was going on?

Where have YOu been for the last 12 years? The liberals have raped this province. BC Rail sold to friends. BC Hydro bankrupt. The Owe-lympics. A $550 million dollar roof on BC Place. A $1 Billion dollar convention center originally estimated at $200 million. Toll Bridges reinstated after 45 years. BC Ferries losing money. Health Cuts, education cuts, the highest child poverty rates in Canada for 8 consecutive years….
And all Christy Clark can do is say ” Its about families” like the brainless idiot she is……
6 million dollars in ‘legal fees” money paid to two legilative assistants to “plead gulity” …..case closed. And then the premier resigns to take a cushy job in London as the High Commissioner…..

Integrity?
No.
Enema.
Yes.
====================================

That pretty much nails it, so many have been leaving BC, especially in the last two years, the economy will decide who does best as usual. Couldn’t get any worse with financial mismanagement and corruption than it has been for 12 years…

#41 – My thoughts exactly Nick.
If the Government is so concerned about deflating the housing market, why don’t they stop allowing young folks to raid their retirement savings in order to buy a house? That should never have been allowed in the first place, so now would be an excellent time to get rid of it! It would be a far better solution than encouraging banks to charge their customers more than market interest rates for mortgages, because that particular solution is just plain wrong.
I thought the Harper Government was in favour of a free market economy, yet it appears that is only the case when such an economy benefits corporations and the rich. They obviously don’t have a problem tampering with the free market economy when such tampering increases costs for the rest of us.

It appears many in here are forgetting that these super low rates are a blessing for those “renewing” not just first time buyers –

My uncle was over on the weekend and we were disucssing rates, I am in the final stretch with my mortgage with a locked-in rate of 2.89% – he just shock his head and recalled the mid-80’s when rates were 15% (and there was no major fallout) – life was tough, but people managed –

Canadian’s love their homes – and most will do whatever to keep it – those who are waiting for price drops will keep waiting. Sure there are corrections, that’s a given, but some in here have been calling for 40% drop since 2009 –

LeBlanc said he was shocked at how fast the fire spread. “With this wind and this dry heat, it was two minutes per house, three minutes, the next one four minutes. They were all catching,” he said.

Lorne Corbett, district fire chief, said the fire started in one house and winds pushed it east, with flames engulfing two more houses. Corbett said that the proximity of the homes, which are about six feet apart, didn’t appear to be a factor.

He classified the winds as “light” and said had they been stronger, more homes to the east would have been damaged.

***************

Well if it was not the six foot proximaty (seriously?) then it has to be the flamability of these houses. Not only the glue and particle structures burn so nicely but the exterior of the neighbour houses caught so very easily. Roof shingles are supposed to be fire resistant…

Well if it was not the six foot proximaty (seriously?) then it has to be the flamability of these houses. Not only the glue and particle structures burn so nicely but the exterior of the neighbour houses caught so very easily. Roof shingles are supposed to be fire resistant…

Fire traps I tell you, fire traps…

With six feet of separation these are basically row houses.
==================================

#59Be careful what you wish for… on 05.13.13 at 1:19 am
Reading a lot of you British Columbians wishing to axe your current government for the NDP. Be careful. Here in Manitoba we’ve had 13 years of NDP. Second highest tax rate in Canada (what would we do without Quebec?)- a promise of Hydro rates increasing AT LEAST 3% per annum for the next 10 years due to mismangement by the NDP – auto insurance rates that make BC look like free transportation – the last 2 years have seen tax increases (our ‘tax-on-tax’ system takes a back seat to no blah blah blah…..

As I said earlier….you ARE NOT voting in the NDP or the Liberals. You are voting in a DICTATORIAL PARTY LEADER who does whatever he or she wants.

This is why we do not vote and will not vote until that system changes to representative democracy. Or Social Breakdown…..whichever comes first.

“I’m a REALTOR and I sold my own home 4 weeks ago. It wasn’t too big or too small. It’s only 6 years old and still feels new. I sold because in 6 months my home will be worth less than it is today. I think it’s time to cash out,” Roy said.

His argument was really simple. The supply of homes on the market was outstripping demand from buyers. Excessive supply and falling demand would lead prices downward.

But his fellow brokers felt betrayed. Some even complained that Roy had been disrespectful to the profession.

Selling his home was, however, a prescient move.

The American MSM has already picked up on our housing bubble and watch with amused interest as the hordes of realtors and mortgage brokers squirm to deny the obvious. Soon enough we will see the bottom-feedin’ real estate cartel shills turn on each other like wounded hyenas.

My two mortgages renew a year from now. I hope the race to the bottom of the rates is still in effect. Why shouldn’t renewers who bought wisely also benefit from low rates? Leaves me more money to invest in liquid assets. Or just enjoy life.

Mr Bass, a longstanding pessimist on Japan, has previously described the country’s combination of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratio, persistent trade deficit, low foreign investment and declining population as a “vicious cocktail” which is on the brink of falling apart.

He warned last year that the country had “crossed the proverbial rubicon” as it moved to devalue its currency by increasing the money supply, a strategy which he says, could see a US dollar – which currently trades at around 98 yen – worth more than 120 yen over the next two years.

“[Shinzo Abe] doesn’t even know what he wishes for because if he gets there he detonates his debt bomb,” said Mr Bass in November, weeks before the new Japanese premier swept to power on vows to do everything possible to get to 3pc inflation.

Speaking of spreading the word to fight world hunger. Try eating a hole new species…..

The report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that eating insects could help boost nutrition and reduce pollution.

It notes than over 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diet with insects.

However it admits that “consumer disgust” remains a large barrier in many Western countries.

Discover more about insects More on protein and healthy eating Wasps, beetles and other insects are currently “underutilised” as food for people and livestock, the report says. Insect farming is “one of the many ways to address food and feed security”.

“Insects are everywhere and they reproduce quickly, and they have high growth and feed conversion rates and a low environmental footprint,” according to the report.

@ #96 Doug in London, where you say especially people over 40, uh, ok, maybe I’ve just got a small sample, but in my limited experience, it seems like people >60 are the ones most convinced that real estate only goes up. Sure there’s the “climb the property ladder” true believers in the under 40 set, usually amongst the “aspirational 14%” who recently bought a house and have the zeal of a new convert. But my parents, my wife’s parents, all of their respective neighbors seem to think real estate flatlining is an absolute worst case scenario.

In all fairness to James, and his removing his post I’ve noticed that people featured in this blog, whose views are anti – garth, often get visciously flamed. I seem to recall , Garth, that you actually called and apologised to one realtor for the responses of your blog dogs

#118Ozy - Old Style Conservative attacks on Trudeau on 05.13.13 at 2:17 pm

Old Style Conservative attacks on Trudeau are so repugnant

Idiotic, is the mute harper gelous that Justin knows how to inspire canadians?….hide or retire this party, suckers, the wave is coming, you will be out like the liberals last time, arrogance has its pay

#118 Ozy – Old Style Conservative attacks on Trudeau on 05.13.13 at 2:17 pm
Old Style Conservative attacks on Trudeau are so repugnant
Idiotic, is the mute harper gelous that Justin knows how to inspire canadians?….hide or retire this party, suckers, the wave is coming, you will be out like the liberals last time, arrogance has its pay

At first I thought you were Smoking Man with your spelling mistakes, non-finished sentence structure and your “out there” contrarian beliefs but then I noticed you used the word repugnant. My Bad!

Idiotic, is the mute harper gelous that Justin knows how to inspire canadians?….hide or retire this party, suckers, the wave is coming, you will be out like the liberals last time, arrogance has its pay”

Give me a break. You honestly need to take a step back and a deep breath.

Do you want this kid to be the CEO, President, Chairman of the board, Emperor of Canada? We were so enthralled by Sarah Palin’s misadventures that we went to find our own?

Do you think that the West is interested in a rich Quebecois boy as the PM? What sort of weird bubble are you living in that you cant understand why the liberals have failed for a decade?

Trudeaumania lives on in the fantasies of the dwindling liberal die hards, and nowhere else.

Ozy I forgot “This is the voice of politics in North America now” Good, Bad and the Ugly, it doesn’t matter how you hang them all politicians and their parties are cut from the same cloth. Just wait until election time rolls around and watch them all chew each other up like grade 1 students when the teacher is out of the class room.
My most sincere apologies to all grade 1 students, they actually are better than the disgusting tirades of these political chimps!

My uncle was over on the weekend and we were disucssing rates, I am in the final stretch with my mortgage with a locked-in rate of 2.89% – he just shock his head and recalled the mid-80′s when rates were 15% (and there was no major fallout) – life was tough, but people managed

………………………………………………………………………….

One of the dumbest notions around peddled by those who have no idea about math.

But we paid 15% mortgages, you young ones have it easy.

Would you rather pay 15% interest on 3 times your annual salary (house prices at the time) or 6% on 9 times your annual income?.

With house prices being such a high annual salary multiple, can you guess what might happen as interest rates normalise over the next few years?.

Not that it is likely to happen but as a thought (math) exercise, at the current annual salary multple (house prices near you) at what interest rate is all your income consumed, in a lot of places in both our countries it’s a long way short of 15%.

It’s not the interest rate alone but the multiple of your annual salary that is borrowed that also needs to be considered.

Idiotic, is the mute harper gelous that Justin knows how to inspire canadians?….hide or retire this party, suckers, the wave is coming, you will be out like the liberals last time, arrogance has its pay

===================================

There are over 30 Million Canadians, but what are odds not only of (2) Liberal leaders named Trudeau, but related !

Bonus: Could maybe have (2) Prime Ministers named Trudeau !

Canada is great country !
Must allow more people in to bask in this bounty !

You dont need to vote conservative if you are in Nanaimo, the place already does that for you. You only survive in Nanaimo if 1)you own a business, 2)you work for the government, 3)you are part of a motorcycle gang, 4)you are a student), or you are 5)retired.

The job prospects in Nanaimo are HORRIBLE if you are an outsider. Nanaimo is all about village people mentality.

As far as green party goes, these are the same people that support lithium car batteries. There is no easy solution to carbon. If you have an expensive car battery that dies, where are you going to put it? All these things cost money. Things like CFL lightbulbs? Got mercury? And the cost to produce LED bulbs? Again, no real easy solution. What is a good idea of the green party is legalization of Marijuana. I dont like the stuff, but if the idiot politicians would get it right and legalize the stuff in the USA and everywhere, that single act would destroy the deficit afflicting the USA and Canada not to mention all the erroneous law judgements against people who enjoy the plant. Again, I despise the stuff, dont like it, but there are people who do, and people who use it arent violent. If anything, things like alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee should be outlawed and made illegal. But then the cops would need to be put in jail and that would be some sort of problem. After all, who would patrol the island highway handing out erroneous tickets while looking the other way when the Angels of Nanaimo are infiltrating the local businesses with their drug money?

More power to those on the Vancouver Island who can survive and not worry about looking over their shoulder all the time. There is a reason why it seems so much like paradise: Most of the locals are worried about holding onto their Burger King jobs for dear life because many of the mills have shut down. People act laid back because otherwise they would be having heart attacks from the anxiety and stress. Not a paradise.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is now in the process of talking to lenders and assessing potential risks in deciding whether it should take action, the Globe and Mail reported on Monday.

Annik Faucher, spokeswoman at OSFI, said the regulator routinely reviews mortgage portfolios with institutions to assess its guidance and effectiveness with industry.

“We are looking at the issue and doing some preliminary consultation with financial institutions. We are working to determine the desirability of some changes given current conditions in housing markets and recent trends in household indebtedness,” said Faucher in an e-mail statement”

6 feet separation between houses. I don’t know where you live but I’ve seen lots of new construction around here lately (ugly, ugly, ugly) where I doubt if there is even 6 feet between the houses. Maybe 4, I’d guess. I’m sure you could reach your hand out of a window on the side of one of those places and touch the exterior well of the next house.

6 feet separation between houses. I don’t know where you live but I’ve seen lots of new construction around here lately (ugly, ugly, ugly) where I doubt if there is even 6 feet between the houses.
===============================

HAH….

There are areas of Vancouver where the eaves of houses in older neighbourhoods aren’t more than 2 ft apart, they literally encroach directly over the property line.

“We are looking at the issue and doing some preliminary consultation with financial institutions. We are working to determine the desirability of some changes given current conditions in housing markets and recent trends in household indebtedness,” said Faucher in an e-mail statement”

The issue at hand is about how banks are calculating capital requirements for uninsured mortgages, aka mark-to-market on assets. It appears that institutional investors are starting to ask questions as to what the real overcollateralization figure is for Canada's AAA rated MBS, because if CMHC isn't using MLS data (real transactions) to value homes, then surely the banks aren't either.

From Black–Scholes to US subprime crisis — we haven't learned one thing about using models to predict values.

Anyone here any insight into SFHs and apartments in Montreal, downtown and the more urban areas close to downtown (atwater, monkland, victoria village, plateau and mile end, outremont, etc)? People here keep claiming it is different in Montreal and especially these area (aside from downtown condos) but I find this hard to believe?!

Poor Twittering James misses the point in his retort entirely, but good to know he is so optimistic and that he is such a loyal Vancouver lover. Personally, I prefer my financial advisors to be more objective and emotionally detached when dispensing advice.

Twittering James is acutely short-sighted, people will always need mortgages, he would be better off marketing to those who will get mortgages post-price correction instead of scraping the bottom of the barrel and losing all credibility when few are buying.

@#47 NoDebt.
If you actually think that liberals spending BILLIONS in BORROWED money that will eventually be paid for by taxpayers.
Is “good for your work” …….. I feel sorry for you.
Eventually as taxes keep rising, you’ll figure it out.

Liberals, NDP. Both the same.
Liars,cheats and thieves.
Its just time to boot out the liberal liars.
They’ve been in power far, far too long.

“land values will probably go up,” how does that relate to a virgin’s condo, where no land is actually owned? Does he just mean monthly fees?

I always thought condos were built on land! Now I know there is no land involved I’m wondering what holds them up. Or we’re you just suggesting that the land is owned by some mysterious third party and not the condo owners?

The guy in the blog photo above may actually be the surgeon that removes the cajones of those who seek office.

Your average politician is a “skin puppett” who will never say the Emperor has NO clothes.

They all sing from the same nonsensical hymn book. ” More Jobs…Save the Environment…Recycle….More Funding for Education..blah blah barf. ” They seem to follow the same subjective enviro – religion.

It’s pretty clear these are a$$ clowns who somehow stumbled into politics and had enough shallow charisma and be “potential programming” candidates to be picked and then used. Then if they get elected, they get their egos stroked, all the perks, as long as they o-b-e-y the Leader/dictator.

Yesterday, was at family function, and one family member commented on how a fellow educator (aka NDP…redundant) who spoke Farsi was going to knock on doors of fellow Farsi speakers. They have no clue about local politics, but this Farsi member will knock on doors and obviously get them to vote NDP.

The reality is, we may as well vote for blow up dolls, same outcome…but less maintenance,

I too was thinking about NOT voting….
However, lots of NON- Liberal and Non- NDP options..so will vote.

Never hurts to send a message to the two main parties, especially the USELESS NDP, that they will not slide in and win by default/protest vote.

Keep in mind that with more options, the chance of a coalition Gov’t.

No! Do what I did! Vote for “NONE OF THE ABOVE”!!!

It will come up as a spoiled ballot.. but they count those, and tally them up. And who takes the time to go to the hassle of voting and spoil their ballot if they are NOT SERIOUS about their belief!

It sends a message. (At least I voted and didn’t jam out and not vote at all!)

I could never vote for the NDP (killed this province last time).. and I couldn’t hold my nose and vote for the liberals after the HST, BC Rail and Vasi/Burk(??) scandal.

And! I think both Kristy Crunch and Lying Dix.. are not worthy to be the head of this great province of ours. (and yes.. there were independents and Green and BC PC’s.. but I had no coincident in them either)

SO! NONE OF THE ABOVE!!! Its not a wasted vote.. It’s how I feel.. and I have the freedom to express it!

So he did. James seems to be rather long on “beliefs” but short on data.

—————————

“Remember what I told you last week, that all mortgages of more than 25 years would be banned in Canada?”

There’s a great reason for following this blog. You get accurate news, delivered sooner.

No wonder the daily papers are suffering. Since the Vancouver Sun put up their nasty pay wall I now read the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal online. They’re just about as useful as the Sun once was.

Garth’s Twitter Posts

The views expressed are those of the author, Garth Turner, a Raymond James Financial Advisor, and not necessarily those of Raymond James Ltd. It is provided as a general source of information only and should not be considered to be personal investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Investors considering any investment should consult with their Investment Advisor to ensure that it is suitable for the investor's circumstances and risk tolerance before making any investment decision. The information contained in this blog was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete. Raymond James Ltd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.